IT may have only been a pre-season tournament, but the grit and determination showed by Sunraysia’s Under 12/13 girls soccer stars has already been impressive.
The youngsters won the cup in their division at the weekend’s traditional Football Federation Victorian (FFV) season opener, the Boys and Girls FC tournament in Bendigo.
The Sunraysia Under 12/13 team of 11 players was reduced to nine with injuries before the nine-a-side half-pitch tournament even started, leaving them with no substitutions for the weekend.
Defying the odds, the girls, who had never played together before, went through all six games undefeated, making the cup grand final against Glen Eira FC Catley’s.
With the scores 0-0 at full-time, the Football Federation Sunraysia (FFS) girls stepped up to win the penalty shootout 3-2.
Coach Steve Batchelor said he was “immensely proud” of his young players.
“To come into the tournament and have no substitutes, playing six games across two days, and with a makeshift goalkeeper who had never played the position before, they were fantastic,” he said.
“They showed tremendous unity, teamwork and character to go through two penalty shootouts, with the last one being sudden death.
“These girls had never played together before until Saturday. I had them for about eight weeks beforehand training but they had never stepped on to the pitch together until the weekend.
“They all played really well, and there are a couple of really talented young players in this group. It will be a huge boost to their confidence for the season ahead.”
The FFS Under-17 girls also had to work their way through multiple shootouts to claim the cup in their division.
After winning each game in the division, they had to resort to penalties after a 3-all draw in the semi-final against the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League.
They won the shootout 5-4, taking them to the final against Darebin Falcons White. The final score was 0-0 before Sunraysia won 2-0 on penalties.
The FFS The Under-17 boys No.2 team was runners-up in the cup section of their division, while the Under-14 boys won the plate section of their division.
Ten teams represented FFS at the tournament.
